By Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com
A rousing crowd of 11,568 at Michelob Ultra Arena watched WBO champion Terence Crawford floor challenger Shawn Porter twice in the 10th round, prompting the Las Vegas resident’s father and trainer Kenny Porter to throw in the towel.
Crawford has been the most avoided man in the welterweight division for years, awaiting a marquee win to draw out other champions from competing promotions. “I tried to fight the other champions in the division and that didn’t happen so I went to the next best thing,” he said while appearing able to go at least a few more rounds.
The fight was close and competitive round after round, with official scorecards having the two no more than three points apart at the time of stoppage.
“Shawn Porter I can’t say nothing bad about him. Round one, I figured that I had the reach and he had to take chances to come in, and he did what he normally does. He tried to maul and push me back, but I used my angles and I pushed him back at times as well. Shawn Porter is a slick fighter he was doing some things in there and made me think,” Crawford added.
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While Porter remained the aggressor throughout most of the fight, Crawford’s superior boxing technique allowed him to more accurately counter and time the aggression. In the 10th round, Crawford’s power finally changed the fight. First, a left uppercut dropped Porter to the canvas. When Porter rose to his feet, Crawford stunned him with a combination to score a second knockdown.
While Porter rose to his feet, his father jumped on the ring apron to call a halt to the fight at the 1:21 mark of Round 10. “He’s doing what he knows he needs to do. I didn’t expect that. We never discussed that before,” said a somewhat stunned “Showtime” during his in-ring interview.
“Yes, the punch I took was clean. My timing was off and he wouldn’t allow me to get my rhythm. He’s the best out of everybody I have been in the ring with. He was on point A-Z and he was that good that I would want to do it again.”
His post-fight comments from Team Porter took a surprising turn when Kenny was asked why he chose to stop the fight when it looked as if his son was able to continue. “He didn’t prepare like I wanted him to prepare. He fought a great fighter. It was like fighting him blindfolded. When guys get to certain levels they believe they know what they are doing. Shawn was hurt. He’s a sharp fighter and my kid was at a deficit and I couldn’t let it go on.”
In Shawn Porter’s adopted home city, the crowd was heavily pro Terence Crawford. The champ recognized the support of the fans who had traveled to see him. “To all of the people that came from Omaha- Thank You!”
Lurking ringside were two potential suitors for Terence’s next ring appearance. Erol Spence and Scotland’s Josh Taylor. Spence and Crawford have been circling each other for at least the past several years. “Spence was at my fight? No, that boy said he was never gonna be at my fights but now he’s at my fights. You see what I did compared to what he did.
Now wait, my thing is, who’s No. 1 in the welterweight division now?”
“You know who I want. I’ve been calling him out all day – maybe Spence will get his tail out of his butt and fight me,” he continued.
There were more surprises from Team Porter during the official post-fight press conference. Porter announced his retirement from boxing. “I’ve given this sport a great deal. From the training to the competition. With that being said, after you’ve fought everyone at the top, what do you do. I’m not going to be a gatekeeper.”